You are here

heat transfer fluids

This report was written by Alaska Sun, which is a coalition in Alaska dedicated to furthering the use of solar energy in their state. It comes from their publication “A Solar Design Manual for Alaska” and focuses on various technologies that are commonly used in solar thermal systems.

Flat plate collectors are described as one of the most common solar thermal technologies and the report sketches one out in a diagram. Heat transfer fluids, which make many solar thermal systems possible, are covered and have the characteristics of what makes a good heat transfer fluid listed.

US-American solar thermal project developer Skyline Innovation has just finished its first solar thermal installation with a bio-based heat transfer fluid called Susterra 1,3-propanediol. The glycol produced by US-American company DuPont Tate & Lyle BioProducts is made entirely of biomaterials, using corn instead of petroleum-based feedstock. It was delivered under the brand name Intercool Bio-Green by US-American company Interstate Chemical Co., which mixed the glycol with water and inhibitors to produce a heat transfer fluid suitable for solar installations.